Spellfall (22 page)

“Fine,” he said, though blood had been seeping slowly around his left heel since they’d left the boat shed. “Shh! Here they come.”

In a raucous burst of jangling bells, five mountain bikes raced towards them, despite the rule about not riding in the precinct. The three older boys raced around the fountain, still ringing their bells, while little Paulie braked a short way off and eyed Jo warily. Finally, Pizzaface turned up puffing, last as usual.

“What we got here, then?” Very deliberately, Gaz kicked Tim’s bicycle over, then leant on his handlebars and stared at him, a challenge in his eye. The other Heads ranked themselves behind him, jostling one another. Paulie giggled, which earned him a clout from his brother.

Though his heart pounded, Tim made himself pick up his bicycle and prop it back against the fountain. The spray had been turned off until Monday and the water glittered with ice crystals. Everything seemed twice as sharp as usual, as if he’d been asleep all his life until tonight.

“Where’s your earring, then?” Gaz said, when it became obvious Tim wasn’t going to rise to the bait. “Mommy make you take it out, did she, diddums?”

Mike and Dave laughed at his sickly tone, though Paulie blushed. Tim got the feeling Paulie wasn’t allowed to wear his skull at home.

“Or maybe his
girlfriend
made him,” Mike said, leering at Jo.

Jo stiffened, and Tim shot her a warning glance. He said quickly, “We’ve got a dare for you.”

“Not interested. We got stuff planned already for tonight.” Gaz reached under his jacket and pulled on a Hallowe’en mask. It had green hair, luminous orange blood, and a bolt through its neck. “Goin’ trick or treatin’, aren’t we?”

“Yeah!” Pizzaface agreed. “Got loads of treats up on the new estate last year.”

Tim couldn’t help but laugh. “I mean a
real
dare! Not scaring old ladies out of a few measly chocolate bars.”

Mike and Dave scowled, but Gaz propped his mask on top of his head and narrowed his eyes. “What dare?”

Tim smiled. He had them. “There’s going to be a party tonight, up at the old lodge in Unicorn Wood. I dare you to come up there with us and ask for a treat.”

Silence. Litter swirled in a sudden breeze, sending a shiver down his spine. The five Heads glanced at one another. Pizzaface swallowed visibly. Paulie paled. “B-but Unicorn Wood’s
haunted,
” he whispered.

“Shut up, you little twerp,” Dave hissed.

“Of course it’s haunted,” Tim said, catching Jo’s grin. “Otherwise it wouldn’t be much of a dare, would it?”

Gaz was starting to look interested. He popped a stick of gum into his mouth and chewed slowly. “Hallowe’en party, eh?” How far is it to this lodge, then?”

“Five miles or so.”

“You know the way?”

With a flourish, Tim produced the map and spread it on the rim of the fountain. Gaz frowned at it while the others crowded forward, trying to see over his shoulder. Jo sat aloof, kicking her heels against the stone and whistling softly to herself.

Gaz chewed some more. “What d’you reckon, Heads?”

“Take us all night to get up there with Pizzaface and Paulie along,” Dave said.

“Hey!” Pizzaface protested. “That’s not fair—”

“Shut up,” Gaz growled. “I’m thinkin’.”

He must have been, too, because he was silent a long time. Then Jo ruined it by saying scornfully, “Told you they’d be too scared, didn’t I?”

The mood changed so fast, Tim didn’t have time to think. Gaz spat out his gum, grabbed Jo’s ankle and tipped her backwards over the fountain rim. Her cap tumbled into the water and her bicycle crashed over as she lashed out with her feet. One of them caught Mike on the jaw. It was probably an accident but he flung himself on her with a cry of rage, calling for Dave to help.

“No!” Paulie squeaked, “Dad’ll kill me if I get into another fight—”

Tim threw his bike at Pizzaface and leapt on to Gaz’s back, wrapping his legs around the boy’s waist and his arms around his neck. Little Paulie was no threat. He’d already begun to back away from the struggle, darting nervous glances over his shoulder. Gaz went down. Tim momentarily lost sight of Jo while he and the leader wrestled furiously on the ground, though grunts and curses from the other boys suggested Jo was holding her own.

Then there was a splash and a yell. “Get me out of here!” Dave screamed, splashing wildly. “It’s freezing!”

While Gaz was distracted, Tim broke free, retrieved his bicycle and dragged Jo round to the other side of the fountain.

“STOP!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

It was beautiful. Everyone froze – Dave kneeling in the fountain with water dripping from his clothes; Pizzaface holding his eye where Tim’s handlebar had caught him; Mike and Gaz looking for someone to hit; Paulie halfway down the precinct.

“Suppose you think you’re tough,” Tim said. “Attacking defenceless girls?”

Jo opened her mouth. “I’m not a defencele—”

Tim went on quickly. “When I joined you, I thought we stood for something real. I thought we were into doing things. Yes, it might be dangerous up in the wood. And yes, it might be haunted. If you want to know the truth, there isn’t a party at the lodge – we think that’s where Nat is being kept. If her kidnappers are still there, they might have weapons. They’re certainly not stupid. They’ve already outwitted the police once. But they’ve got my stepsister. And whether you help or not, Jo and I are going up there to try and get her back.” He grabbed the soggy map and stuffed it back under his jacket. “C’mon Jo, we’re wasting our time here.”

The girl dashed the grit off her jeans and fished her cap out of the fountain. She jammed it back on her head and glared at Gaz. “I thought you’d grown up since I had to brain you that day,” she said quietly. “Or we wouldn’t have bothered asking.”

Tim’s stomach clenched. But not one of the Heads moved. They kept glancing at Gaz, who was too busy frowning at Jo to notice. In the end, Mike went to Dave’s rescue, Pizzaface picked himself up, and Paulie crept back to his brother’s side, sniffing quietly.

“Let’s go
,
” Tim hissed, giving Jo a push.
“Now!”

This time she complied. As they raced from the precinct and headed out of town, she gave him a flash of that crazy grin. Tim grinned back and stood on his pedals. His veins sang, the stars fizzed in the sky, and his bike felt as if it had grown wings. Strangely, his feet didn’t hurt at all.

*

The euphoria carried them for several miles but quickly wore off once they entered the wood. Here, under the trees, the stars were no longer visible and their cycle lamps seemed very small and feeble. Chill darkness seeped from every side, almost thick enough to touch.

By the time they stopped to consult the map, Tim was having serious second thoughts. As Jo fought the large sheet, trying to persuade it to fold in the right place, a loud screech came from the trees, making them both jump. Jo removed her cap and wiped her forehead with the back of one hand, eyes searching the shadows.

“Fox,” she said. “I think.”

Tim noticed fresh beads of sweat on her forehead.

He must have walked this route in the opposite direction yesterday, yet nothing seemed familiar. What if the entire wood was under some enchantment? They might wander up here forever and never find their way out again. He guiltily thought of his promise to Mrs Carter.

Jo replaced her cap and gave him a direct stare. “I never thanked you for what you did back at the fountain.”

Tim shrugged. “I thought I’d better stop the fight before you hurt someone.”

“I’m glad you did. It was pretty brave of you, standing up to the Heads like that. I suppose they’ll throw you out now?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He looked away, embarrassed. “They’re not exactly what I expected. I was going to leave anyway.”

There was an awkward silence. Then something small and very fast darted across his foot and vanished into the wood, sending shivers right through him. He felt a sudden urge to talk. “Want to know a secret?”

“What?”

“I hate the countryside. Back in London, it was never really dark like this. When it rained, it never got muddy. There was always someplace to go, someplace warm and bright and full of people. When that Spell Lord dragged me through his Thrallstone into Earthaven, I was petrified. I thought I’d never see a streetlamp again.”

“Is that why you hate Nat so much?” Jo asked softly.

Tim blinked. It wasn’t the response he’d been expecting. He’d thought she might call him a coward, and with good reason. Here he was, acting like a little kid afraid of the dark. “Hate her? I don’t hate her.”

“She thinks you do.”

He said slowly, “I hated leaving all my friends behind. They teased me about moving out into the sticks and I suppose I blamed my mother for that. When she filled in the dating agency form, she never asked me what I wanted, did she? Just went ahead and put
countryside
and
children
and all that rubbish. I could hardly believe it when she went and married Mr Marlins. I mean, even I’d worked out he was a piss-head and I’d only met him twice! But as soon as she heard what had happened to Nat’s mother, that was it. Told me we were going to make a fresh start in the country. Said Mr Marlins was a very unhappy man with a confused little girl who needed us.” He paused, remembering. “I did resent Nat at first, the way my mother fussed over her as if she was the only person in the world who had ever lost a parent. But I suppose it wasn’t Nat’s fault.”

Even as he spoke, he knew Jo was right. He had been mean to Nat. Whenever he got frustrated with Millennium Green, she was the one he took it out on. He made a private promise to make it up to her when they got her back.

If they got her back.

“Is your real dad dead, then?” Jo asked, still gently.

Tim shook himself. “No! Ran off with another woman, didn’t he? Haven’t seen him since. Don’t want to neither, the way he treated us. C’mon, we ought to get moving if we’re going to make it to this lodge and back before the disco finishes.”

Jo didn’t move. “And did you leave a girlfriend back in London?”

He blushed furiously, for once glad of the dark because it hid his embarrassment. “Don’t be stupid! I was only a kid when we left.”

A flash of that white grin. “I’m glad you came to Millennium Green.” Before he knew what was coming, she’d pecked him on the cheek, bounced her bike into the woods and was off down the muddy track, her rear lamp winking like a red eye in the night.

Tim stared after it, stunned. He touched his cheek which was tingling strangely. Then his bike fell over on his foot and pain shot up his leg, bringing him to his senses. “Hey!” he called, dragging the machine upright. “Wait for me!”

*

They came across the lodge suddenly. One moment, there were only black trees and silver shadows, unidentified rustles and their flickering cycle lamps. The next, an ancient house loomed behind gates of twisted black iron and an ivy-wreathed wall, lighting up the night.

They dismounted and took cover behind a fallen log. Jo studied the place in silence while Tim tried to imagine being brought here against his will and imprisoned inside. He shuddered.

There was a lot of activity. The uncurtained windows cast rectangles of yellow light across some of the wildest brambles Tim had ever seen. People clad in dark clothing hurried in and out of the front door carrying spades, sacks, thick gloves, rucksacks, and – more worryingly – business-like bows and quivers stuffed with arrows. They disappeared round the corner of the house, then returned empty handed for another load. He tried to count them but had to give up. Apart from a tall man with feathers in his hair who strode about swinging his stick around as if he owned the entire world and a blonde woman who held her head a little higher than the rest, they could all have been clones. They kept their eyes downcast and flinched whenever the feathered man came near. Tim couldn’t see anyone small enough to be Nat.

“Do you think Nat’s still in there?” he whispered.

Jo shook herself and rose to her feet. “Poor thing! Keeping her in a place like that! Let’s go and see.”

Tim grabbed her jacket in alarm and pulled her back down. “Are you crazy? We’re not going to get anywhere near the house with all those people around. Looks like they’re setting out on an expedition or something. Wonder what they’re up to?”

Jo stared at him as if
he
were the crazy one. “What are you talking about? What people?”

“Those people! And keep your voice down. They’ll hear you.”

“
Who’ll
hear me?” Jo’s eyes flashed dangerously. “If this is some sort of joke, Timothy Lockley—”

He frowned at her but she seemed serious. Then he remembered the trouble he’d had at the Thrallstone and groaned. “You can’t see them, can you?”

She shook her head.

“What
can
you see?”

“Just a dark old house covered in ivy, boarded-up windows, half the roof gone. Looks like it’s about to fall down. Creepy.” She shivered.

“That sounds like what the police saw.” He frowned at the lodge, thinking hard. “Must be some spell on it – that’s why they didn’t find anything when they searched up here. Maybe I can see it because I’ve been in Earthaven. You haven’t, so you can’t.”

Jo slammed a fist into the leaves. “What do I have to do to see them? They’re the people who killed Bilbo. I
want
to see them. What time is it?”

Tim glanced at his watch. “Eleven thirty-three,” he reported, turning cold.

“Don’t be silly. We can’t have been up here that long.” Jo switched on her torch and peered at hers. She frowned. “Funny. Mine says the same.”

They stared at each other in silence.

“It’s just what happened before,” said Tim, “when I was waiting for that Spell Lord to finish unloading his truck. Must be something to do with the spells on the Boundary.
Careful!
They’re switching off the lights.”

As Jo clicked off the torch the final light went out in the house and the blonde woman emerged from the Lodge. She wore thick gloves and carried a metal cylinder with a handle, like a large vacuum flask. It glinted in the moonlight, revealing a black bird with outstretched wings on its silver surface.